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“Well, conditions are quite harsh here. Our recommendation is all of our clients to put everything they’ve got into preserved goods and firearms.” That bit of shrewd guidance comes from the Brain Gremlin – a lab-engineered, articulate, bespectacled member of the oozy monster mob that overruns Manhattan’s ultra-modern Clamp Tower skyscraper in helmer Joe Dante’s zany follow-up Gremlins 2: The New Batch. On the surface, it’s simply an investment tip from one monster to another. Yet, curiously, it’s also surprisingly sturdy existential counsel. Truly, consider my perspective.

When things go bad, the most counterproductive action you can do is approach matters with excessive gravity. The Brain Gremlin grasps this. Actually, the majority of the fang-bearing creatures that inhabit Dante’s chaotic 1990 feature (debateably his greatest) possess the same wry, meta comic sensibility regarding the hazy boundary separating everyday life and absolute bedlam. It’s a single component of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that ensures my return – and with the passage of time, it’s the underlying idea that strikes the deepest chord.

A Childhood Fascination

Of course, my attachment to this movie did not begin on such an introspective level. Growing up, we possessed merely a few battered VHS tapes at home. Part of that group were Gremlins and its follow-up, the latter housed in a bulky previously-rented case likely purchased from an off-brand video shop and sporting growling monsters on its tattered front. I was instantly captivated and these films wasted no time embedding themselves inside my small, malleable brain. From then on, they became an near-everyday part of my early years entertainment regimen.

Dante’s original usually receives all the praise, thanks largely to its reputation as a semi-scary seasonal fave – and to be fair, I’ve watched Gremlins on countless occasions. However, its sequel rarely gets the same level of high regard, which feels unjust. As a kid, I’d never miss an opportunity to watch Gremlins 2. During long summer holidays, I’d retreat into the house and play it. When I acquired my personal TV-VHS combo unit, it remained on repeat in my bedroom. Over time, it etched itself permanently in my mental framework. If my parents observed this fixation, they gave no indication of concern.

Subtler Discoveries and Societal Easter Eggs

As I matured, new revelations rewarded frequent screenings, amplifying the pleasure of watching small emerald creatures happily vandalize a New York high-rise. I learned the forward-thinking property magnate and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was inspired directly by the later-to-be-president Donald Trump, with his red-headed employee Marla (Haviland Morris) referencing his former spouse Marla Maples. Fortunately, Clamp has more heart than his actual-world equivalent.

The “end of civilisation” video Clamp plays during peak-Gremlin chaos? I discovered it was modeled after a actual “Doomsday” video produced by the CNN boss Ted Turner in case the world actually met its demise. I noticed how Dante made a special effort to film alternate cuts of a self-aware scene where Gremlins hijack the very film you’re watching. An edit for movie houses, a separate one for tape and broadcast, each offering a winking bit of self-referential entertainment sorcery before the term was even a thing.

An Enduring Legacy

While it was makeup maestro Rick Baker’s fantastically vile creatures that drew my gaze as a child, this hidden treasure held my interest as an adult. Eventually, I even interviewed Dante about it myself and he had no qualms telling me he made the movie with the direct intention of poking fun at those who loved its goofy-but-heartfelt predecessor and desired a sequel. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he cheerfully disclosed. This cartoonish insubordination and resolve to not take his sequel as solemnly as his Warner Bros bosses evidently expected, only made me love it even more.

When I experienced a unexpected loss in the family recently, I was taken aback to discover that, during my deepest grief, all I felt compelled to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Strange, isn’t it? Maybe not. The comforting familiarity it furnished was necessary to weaken my mind’s grief morass – but the perspectives it had imparted to me as an adult were similarly beneficial.

Like Gremlins tearing apart a genetics laboratory, there’s some things in life you just can’t control. Dante understands this. The Brain Gremlin knows it too. Sometimes, you have to follow their example: welcome the pandemonium, commit your entire being into tinned provisions and hunting rifles and try not to take things too seriously.

It’s strong life advice from a highly unexpected fountain – and it’s the reason Gremlins 2: The New Batch will forever remain my feelgood film.